News & Analysis as of

White Collar Crimes Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Second Circuit Vacates Fraud Conviction in First Crypto “Insider Trading” Case

In United States v. Chastain, No. 23-7038, 2025 WL 2165839 (2d Cir. July 31, 2025), the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated wire fraud and money laundering convictions in what the government...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Recent Developments in the Law of Federal Property Fraud: It’s a Long and Winding Road

In two recent high-profile decisions, Chastain v. United States and Johnson v. United States, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed wire fraud convictions that were based on theories resembling insider...more

Benesch

Second Circuit Widens the Gap Between Wire Fraud and Intangible Interests - Confidential Business Information Without Commercial...

Benesch on

The Second Circuit has narrowed the wire fraud statute (18 U.S.C. § 1343), ruling that a fraudulent scheme must target property with actual commercial value to the victim; mere confidential business information...more

Perkins Coie

Second Circuit Narrows Scope of Federal Criminal Fraud Statute in NFT “Insider Trading” Case

Perkins Coie on

In United States v. Chastain, a split panel of the Second Circuit recently vacated the convictions of a former executive of an NFT marketplace who had been charged with misusing confidential information to trade NFTs for...more

DLA Piper

Second Circuit Vacates NFT “Insider Trading” Conviction, Clarifies Property Requirement for Wire Fraud

DLA Piper on

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has vacated the conviction of Nathaniel Chastain, a former employee of non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea. Chastain had been convicted of wire fraud and money...more

Seward & Kissel LLP

Second Circuit Vacates Former OpenSea Employee’s “Insider Trading” Conviction

Seward & Kissel LLP on

On June 1, 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York charged former OpenSea employee Nathaniel Chastain with wire fraud1 for an NFT “insider trading” scheme. At the time, we here at SKrypto asked:...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

NYAG Files Action Against Crypto Trading Platform, Takes Position That ETH Is a Security

On March 9, 2023, the New York State Attorney General’s Office (NYAG) filed a lawsuit charging crypto trading platform KuCoin for “failing to register as a securities and commodities broker-dealer and falsely representing...more

BakerHostetler

DeFi Protocols Announce Updates; FSB Addresses DeFi Risks; Museum to Host NFT Exhibit; Crypto Enforcement Continues; Crypto Crime...

BakerHostetler on

DeFi Protocols Announce Updates, US Bank Introduces Deposit Token Concept - According to recent reports, Rocket Pool, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol used as an Ethereum (ETH) staking service, has reached $1...more

Foley Hoag LLP - White Collar Law &...

New York Federal Prosecutors Indict Defendant in Connection with NFT Insider-Trading Scheme

Federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York recently charged Nathan Chastain with wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a purported scheme to illegally profit from sales and purchases of...more

Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP

OpenSea Employee Arrested in First NFT Insider Trading Case

Earlier this month, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced the first ever indictment for insider trading of digital assets. According to the indictment, in 2021 Nathaniel Chastain was...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

‘Insider Trading’ and NFTs: What Should Companies Be Doing?

The recent indictment of an employee of OpenSea, a prominent NFT marketplace, highlights the risk of trading digital assets based on the improper use of confidential information, even where the digital asset is not a...more

Seward & Kissel LLP

Former OpenSea Employee Charged with Insider Trading in NFTs; Could This be a “One-Off” or Sign of Future Actions?

Seward & Kissel LLP on

On June 1, 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced the indictment of former OpenSea employee Nathaniel Chastain for an NFT “insider trading” scheme. From at least June to...more

Polsinelli

Former OpenSea Employee Charged with Wire Fraud and Money Laundering in First Ever “Digital Asset Insider Trading” Scheme

Polsinelli on

A former employee of OpenSea, the largest marketplace for the purchase and sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), has been indicted and charged with wire fraud and money laundering allegedly in connection with actions he took...more

Cohen & Gresser LLP

Increased Scrutiny for the Crypto Industry: DOJ Creates a Special Enforcement Team as Regulators Sharpen their Focus

Cohen & Gresser LLP on

The cryptocurrency industry should brace itself for increased scrutiny from the DOJ and other enforcement agencies. The DOJ recently announced the creation of a National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (“NCET”), which will...more

The Volkov Law Group

A Compliance Crisis at NFT Marketplace OpenSea – Transparency on the Blockchain

The Volkov Law Group on

The crypto industry is abuzz with a recent scandal involving OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace in the industry (for those not in the know, NFT stands for non-fungible token, and the most common use case at the moment is to...more

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